it is going to cause america 700,000 jobs. this isn't some figure i just picked out of the air. >> ifill: senate republicans say it would be irresponsible to pass a budget bill to keep government running that doesn't drastically reduce spending. >> we're averaging about $4 billion a day in debt this year. and democrats want to cut $4.7 billion and call it a day. anything more they say is draconian. draconian. i'll tell you what's draconian. draconian is what happens if democrats don't get real about our nation's fiscal crisis. >> ifill: congress has until march 18 to come to agreement on a budget plan. but the two major parties have vastly different approaches. democrats propose reducing last year's spending levels by about $5 billion. while republicans support an alternative passed by the house last month that would slash nearly 10 times that amount. $57 billion. the $50 billion gap is so wide that house republicans are already working on a back-up plan, an additional temporary extension that would contain billions in more cu